The invention relates to compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and more specifically to an adaptor that allows the CFL to be electrically connected in the socket of a conventional incandescent lamp.
It has been widely known for quite some time that fluorescent lamps use far less electricity than incandescent lamps. Major efforts have been made to convince consumers to convert their incandescent lamps to fluorescent lamps. In the early models, fluorescent lamps that could be screwed into a socket of an incandescent lamp fixture were quite large and cumbersome. The early florescent lamp was a tubular bulb formed in the shaped of a ring and the bulb was located outside the structure of the harp member that supports the lamp shade.
In recent years lamp manufacturers have developed a compact fluorescent lamp that is releasably plugged into an adaptor having an electrical contact base similar to that of an incandescent light bulb. The adaptor contains a ballast, a printed circuit board and the necessary electrical wiring.
The compact fluorescent lamps are smaller than the original fluorescent lamp models and also more efficient. A problem of the present day compact fluorescent lamp models is the fact that they can be removed from the incandescent lamp socket very easily and the CFL are very expensive. Normally an incandescent light bulb is approximately 25 cents and the CFL is priced in the range of $10.00 to $20.00 each.
An ideal application for the CFL""s are professional users such as hotels. However, since they are easily removed and replacement is very expensive, the hotels are reluctant to use them due to pilferage. Another problem is that normally 100 watt lamps or 75-150 watt lamps have been used in hotel rooms. This poses a problem for the hotels since the CFL""s price increases drastically in accordance to the wattage of the lamp. Also the higher the wattage of the CFL""s, the taller the overall height is. Several lamp assemblies have smaller harps that cannot physically accept the higher wattage CFL""s due to their increased height. As a result, the hotels have downgraded the wattage of the CFL""s they use and the guests have complained that the light is not bright enough.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel lock-in compact fluorescent lamp adaptor that will prevent hotel guests from stealing the CFL from a lamp assembly.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel lock-in compact fluorescent lamp adaptor that prevents removal of the harp thereby preventing removal of the CFL.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel lock-in compact fluorescent lamp adaptor that has a pleasing cosmetic appearance and whose locking features are not externally visible.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel lock-in compact fluorescent lamp adaptor that is economical to manufacture and market.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel lock-in compact fluorescent lamp adaptor that interacts with the legs of the harp of the lamp assembly to prevent unauthorized removal of the CFL.
The novel lock-in compact fluorescent lamp adaptor has been designed to be used with lamp assemblies that have an existing light socket for receiving an incandescent light bulb.
The present compact fluorescent lamps available in the market place have a post member that extends downwardly from their bottom end. This post member is received in a plug-in socket in the top of an adaptor having an electrical contact base that is screwed into a conventional incandescent light socket. The novel lock-in compact fluorescent lamp adaptor has been made shorter than previous adaptors by designing the adaptor casing in the shape of a toroid and placing the ballast and other electrical components in its radially spaced electrical components chamber. The top of the adaptor is designed to removably receive the post member of the CFL and removably hold it in place with a pair of laterally spaced retaining clips. An electrical contact base is connected to the bottom wall of the adaptor casing and it has a conventional externally threaded outer electrical contact surface that would be received into a conventional incandescent lamp socket.
A horizontal aperture in the outer wall surface of the adaptor casing communicates with an interior wall of the adaptor casing at a position spaced from but parallel to one of the retaining clips. The inner wall of the adaptor casing has a threaded aperture that receives a locking screw which when advanced to its innermost position squeezes the retaining clip against the post member of the compact fluorescent lamp thereby preventing its removal from the adaptor casing. The screw is of a vandal resistant type Saving a special tool receiving recess in its head that can only be tightened or loosened by a person having the proper tool. The previously described structure prevents removal of the CFL from the adaptor but does not prevent the entire unit from being unscrewed from the incandescent lamp socket. In order to overcome this problem, the outer periphery of the adaptor casing has been designed with a pair of vertically oriented slots that receive and capture the bottom legs of the harp of the lamp fixture assembly. When the bottom legs of the harp are captured in the vertical slots of the adaptor casing, the adaptor casing cannot be unscrewed from the incandescent lamp socket.
With the reduced height of the adaptor casing, compact fluorescent lamps rated up to 42 watts can be utilized with a harp having a relatively short height. The 42 watt CFL is approximately equivalent to a 200 watt incandescent lamp.
An alternative embodiment of the novel adaptor discloses an adaptor casing having a telescopically removable electrical contact base. Two other alternative embodiments are illustrated and described for an adaptor that can be utilized with a CFL having an inverted base structure.